Alex attends school at Hampshire Regional High School, where he gets around in a motorized scooter and has two close friends. His disease, dystonia, leaves his sharp mind intact, but causes his muscles to jerk uncontrollably when he tries to use them. He has always been buoyant and serene, but when his symptoms worsened as he entered adolescence and he lost the ability to walk and talk, he grew sadder and his parents grew increasingly concerned. When doctors deemed Alex a candidate for surgery, they rejoiced.